[Ayreonaut]

I rarely listen to radio, but when I do, I listen to Q (classic rock), or CJSW on saturday nights for Megawatt Mayhem :rock: So I don't hear much of Sloan, and don't have a problem with them, they do have the best name in music :D

[clynnog]

Being forced fed The Hip, The Guess Who, Rush....etc every time I turn on the radio has turned me off every buying their CD's or going to a concert.

Don't listen to the radio in Ottawa then...its wall to wall Supertramp, Max Webster, the Doobie Brothers, Eagles, Guess Who, Rush, Aerosmith etc on CHEZ...what is the deal with Supertramp and Ottawa.

[MolsonExport]

Radio goes off this morning, waking me with the delights of "EVERYTIME I LOOK AT YOU I GO BLIND" (who-peeD and the blowjobs), followed by the worlds worst ever song, "Every morning there's a halo hangin from the corner of my girlfriend's four post bed! I know it's not mine but I'll see if I can use it for the weekend or a one-night stand" (Fucking goddamn sugar RAy)

WTF? not a day goes by and I don't hear these songs. They sucked 12 years ago when they were released; they suck far more today. WHY THE FVCK ARE THEY ALWAYS ON THE DAMNED RADIO???????

http://www.stomptokyo.com/otf/Hulk/DzlItem1349.jpg

[kirjtc2]

Radio goes off this morning, waking me with the delights of "EVERYTIME I LOOK AT YOU I GO BLIND" (who-peeD and the blowjobs), followed by the worlds worst ever song, "Every morning there's a halo hangin from the corner of my girlfriend's four post bed! I know it's not mine but I'll see if I can use it for the weekend or a one-night stand" (Fucking goddamn sugar RAy)
[/IMG]

Actually you're wrong. That one may be bad, but the world's worst song goes "this love has taken its toll on me, she's said goodbye too many times before...."

Reminds me of the week I spent in Miramichi and the only station my clock radio picked up played that 24/7.

Can we maroon Maroon 5 on some desert island?

[Mister F]

I totally agree with you. It is the interaction of horrid formula play (done by machines, where 6 songs are rotated for 5 years running [witness Sugar Ray, Nickelback, "Listen to the Music", etc.], with one or two random songs drawn daily from perhaps a battery of 10 other songs [e.g., Radar Love, Takin' Care of Bizness, Lunatic Fringe, etc.] with CANCON. Not just tripe, but CANADIAN tripe. Kinda like bad Canadian beer (e.g., make-her a laker; it's a buck-a-beer!)
Ah, classic defeatist Canadian attitude. Somehow our tripe is worse than tripe from other countries :shrug:

I don't see why you guys have a problem with Cancon. Canadian music is at least as good as the American music we'd still be dominated by without Cancon. The idea of Canadian inferiority is exactly what Cancon was meant to fight - people used to have the idea that if a band was Canadian they automatically sucked. It's an idea that's still common in TV and especially movies. Thankfully it's slowly disappearing in music. Canadian music is actually celebrated, especially at the grassroots level, and there's a mature (I might even say influential) industry that I'm sure would still thrive if the Cancon rules disappeared tomorrow.

Commercial radio sucking, however, I can't argue with. You can't blame Cancon for Nickelback - they were big in the States before they got big here. They're the result of crappy commercial radio and people in general having crappy taste. Not much we can do about that.

[Jay in Cowtown]

Ah, classic defeatist Canadian attitude. Somehow our tripe is worse than tripe from other countries :shrug:

I don't see why you guys have a problem with Cancon. Canadian music is at least as good as the American music we'd still be dominated by without Cancon. The idea of Canadian inferiority is exactly what Cancon was meant to fight - people used to have the idea that if a band was Canadian they automatically sucked. It's an idea that's still common in TV and especially movies.



Typical Canadian communist, what else do you support... Government Liquor stores?

[MolsonExport]

Ah, classic defeatist Canadian attitude. Somehow our tripe is worse than tripe from other countries :shrug:

I don't see why you guys have a problem with Cancon. Canadian music is at least as good as the American music we'd still be dominated by without Cancon. The idea of Canadian inferiority is exactly what Cancon was meant to fight - people used to have the idea that if a band was Canadian they automatically sucked. It's an idea that's still common in TV and especially movies. Thankfully it's slowly disappearing in music. Canadian music is actually celebrated, especially at the grassroots level, and there's a mature (I might even say influential) industry that I'm sure would still thrive if the Cancon rules disappeared tomorrow.

Commercial radio sucking, however, I can't argue with. You can't blame Cancon for Nickelback - they were big in the States before they got big here. They're the result of crappy commercial radio and people in general having crappy taste. Not much we can do about that.

Really? What makes you an authority on "Classic defeatest Canadian attitude" or CANCON for that matter?

I am anything but a defeatest, when it comes to things Canadian.

I just couldn't give two shits where my music comes from--good or bad. Most successful 'Canadian' music acts/artists move to the USA anyhow. CANCON serves to amplify the badness, as the same badness gets played ad nauseum.

[vid]

what else do you support... Government Liquor stores?

Yes. The LCBO, unlike anything in Alberta, has real pull in the world wine industry. It's one of the largest single purchasers of alcohol in the world and brings in billions of dollars of revenue -- revenue which does not have to come out of the pockets of taxpayers.

I think its actually a pretty good system. It also have better hours than any non-government run liquor store in the city.

[Acajack]

Whether or not (English-)Canada has a distinct cultural identity from the U.S. makes no difference to me as, language abilities aside, I consider myself to be primarily Québécois/French Canadian on the cultural front.

That being said, I tend to be in favour of CanCon from a logical perspective, for the simple reason that it actually tends to give people more choice rather than less. Cultural sectors in Anglo-Canada where there is no CanCon (ie movie theatres) are completely US-dominated, and even decent, award-winning Canadian films can't even get a couple of nights on a single screen in most cities.

Anybody know what purple loosestrife is? Let some loose in your garden and see how much diversity in flowers you'll have in your backyard within a year or so... The US and its conglomerates are the cultural equivalent of purple loosestrife. They are anti-diversity and they want you (and as much of the rest of the world as they can get) to consume the same stuff over and over - THEIR stuff.

[Mister F]

Typical Canadian communist, what else do you support... Government Liquor stores?
I'm just going to assume you're being facetious.

Really? What makes you an authority on "Classic defeatest Canadian attitude" or CANCON for that matter?

I am anything but a defeatest, when it comes to things Canadian.

I just couldn't give two shits where my music comes from--good or bad. Most successful 'Canadian' music acts/artists move to the USA anyhow. CANCON serves to amplify the badness, as the same badness gets played ad nauseum.
No, most successful Canadian music artists don't move to the States. The only ones who move abroad are the ones that get huge internationally. But most of the artists that are successful stay based in this country. That's the point, isn't it? Back in the days of the Guess Who bands would have to go to the States to get any success, and be successful there to get accepted in their own country. How sad is that? Now that's not the case. There's a whole music industry here that didn't exist 30 years ago, that develops talent we didn't know we had. That's a pretty compelling reason in and of itself for content rules.

How exactly does Cancon amplify the badness? That doesn't make any sense. Is there a higher percentage of "badness" in Canada than the US, Britain or Australia? If radio stations are playing the same bad music over and over that's hardly the fault of content rules. They could just as easily play new and emerging music, but that's not what commercial radio does, Cancon or not.

It's not like we're the only country to have content rules. Australia does, and in France I've heard 60% of music played has to be French.

[Jay in Cowtown]

I'm just going to assume you're being facetious.



No, not really...

Supporting something that tells you what and what you can not watch and hear is more or less what communists support.

I myself am the exact opposite... I subscribe to Directv and Sirius just to give a happy fuck you to the CRTC and CanCon, and my life's better because of it!

[LordMandeep]

well I am economically right, but i support government liquor stores.


Thats billions in revenue for the govt. Easily makes up for any negative cost of liquor on our society.

[Mister F]

No, not really...

Supporting something that tells you what and what you can not watch and hear is more or less what communists support.
So you're saying that every country in the world is communist. Okay then.

Cancon rules regarding music don't tell you what can and cannot hear. Last I checked there were no rules against playing foreign music on the radio.

Cancon does apply to satellite radio, it just works differently.

[Nutterbug]

33% Cancon is too much.

Something like 10% would be more reasonable.

[SpongeG]

you know that cereal commercial where the couple speak with a british accent and he says shut up steve or whatever

anyway they play the same commercial on American Channels but they have dubbed out the brit accents and replaced them with American accents

are americans afraid of british accents?

[vid]

No, not really...

Supporting something that tells you what and what you can not watch and hear is more or less what communists support.

I myself am the exact opposite... I subscribe to Directv and Sirius just to give a happy fuck you to the CRTC and CanCon, and my life's better because of it!

Supporting something that controls what you can and cannot watch/do is authoritarian. Communism (certain strains of it anyway) is authoritarian, as are nazism (centrist authoritarianism) and fascism (right wing authoritarianism).

You are centrist libertarian (not unlike the Green Party in many aspects). The extremes are, to the left, hippies (left wing libertarians) and mad-max societies (right wing libertarians). Libertarian is half-assed anarchism, imo. The lack of government interference in mundane things is nice, though.

[Jay in Cowtown]

Supporting something that controls what you can and cannot watch/do is authoritarian. Communism (certain strains of it anyway) is authoritarian, as are nazism (centrist authoritarianism) and fascism (right wing authoritarianism).

You are centrist libertarian (not unlike the Green Party in many aspects). The extremes are, to the left, hippies (left wing libertarians) and mad-max societies (right wing libertarians). Libertarian is half-assed anarchism, imo. The lack of government interference in mundane things is nice, though.

lol! I'll make a note of it.

Commie just sounds better though.

[vid]

Yes, but it reflects poorly on your intelligence. Calling a dolphin a fish sounds better too but it's equally wrong.

[Jay in Cowtown]

Yes, but it reflects poorly on your intelligence.

Oh clearly... thanks for pointing it out, cupcake!

[kirjtc2]

are americans afraid of british accents?

I'm afraid so. Look at "Planet Earth". The American broadcast replaced David Attenborough with Sigourney Weaver.

[Mister F]

:haha:

Those crazy Americans. I guess they're commies too. Wardrobe malfunction anyone?

[vid]

I'm afraid so. Look at "Planet Earth". The American broadcast replaced David Attenborough with Sigourney Weaver.

The American web broadcast. All the American's I have talked to maintain that Attenborough narrated the TV version.

[MolsonExport]

How the hell does hearing Bryan Adams all fricken day make this country better/stronger?

[Acajack]

It's not like we're the only country to have content rules. Australia does, and in France I've heard 60% of music played has to be French.

CRTC regulations actually require all francophone stations (which covers most stations in Quebec) to play 60% French-language music, in addition to the 33% CanCon all other Canadian radio stations regardless of language have to respect.

So 60% of the total has to be in French
And 33% of the total has to be Canadian

[harls]

I just saw that horrible Ultramatic bed commercial starring some italian stereotype who is supposedly famous (?) "Adjustible, massage... call now for a free catalog, and right now you could win a free bed, did you heart what I said? free - tell em Tony sent you - what, you didn't picture me as a pyjama guy?"

Who the fuck are you? am I supposed to know?

[LordMandeep]

i heard there is controversy that a a Canadian network played the super bowl..


Or it could be some crazy lefties going nuts...

[SpongeG]

a Canadian network always plays the superbowl

thats why so many people get pissed because the american feed gets played over with the Canadian feed and Canada misses out on all the Commercials

and we get the lame ass Canadian commercials - but we get bombarded for days weeks ahead of time about the "superbowl" commercials and the ones you must see

[Mister F]

^The commercials are a bigger deal than the game!

How the hell does hearing Bryan Adams all fricken day make this country better/stronger?
Would you rather listen to Bon Jovi all day? Because that's your alternative, at least if you listen to stations that play Bryan Adams! My co-workers listen to crappy "not too hard not too soft" stations all day and all I ever hear is friggin Livin' on a Prayer again and again :yuck:

Come on, for every crappy Canadian band, there's ten crappy American bands. Just stay away from the crap!

[Jay in Cowtown]

If you spend any amount of time in a car, I highly recommend Sirius or XM... with the receiver I have in my work truck, I've preset 40 "alert" artists so almost every 2 minutes I'm getting notification of a song I actually want to hear, not some shit I don't (ie: The Tragically Shit)... it's great, and uncensored.

[Acajack]

So, Jay in Cowtown, what you’re telling us is that you actually listen to the same 40 artists over and over again? Which goes to show that most people who complain about lack of variety on the radio aren’t truly looking for more variety and to be exposed to new and potentially interesting stuff, they’re just longing to hear the artists THEY like and already know, over and over.

Of course, none of this would actually be news to a radio station programmer.

So cue up The Doobie Brothers again, Frank. Whoa-woaaaaaaaa, listen to the music. All the tiiiiiiiiiiiime!

[MolsonExport]

^The commercials are a bigger deal than the game!


Would you rather listen to Bon Jovi all day? Because that's your alternative, at least if you listen to stations that play Bryan Adams! My co-workers listen to crappy "not too hard not too soft" stations all day and all I ever hear is friggin Livin' on a Prayer again and again :yuck:

Come on, for every crappy Canadian band, there's ten crappy American bands. Just stay away from the crap!

OK, OK, I also happen to hate Bon Jovi. But Bryan Adams all the time is pretty much just as bad. There is a lot of badness in 'popular' radio, it is just that the concentration of Canadian badness is much greater with CANCON. With soft rock, endless rotations of Michael Buble (hate this guy's material). With hard rock, it is "Tom Sawyer" (Rush) followed by (random song by the Guess Who or Bachman Turner Overdrive), followed by some song by Trooper.

[harls]

Trooper has more than one song?

[kirjtc2]

So, Jay in Cowtown, what you’re telling us is that you actually listen to the same 40 artists over and over again? Which goes to show that most people who complain about lack of variety on the radio aren’t truly looking for more variety and to be exposed to new and potentially interesting stuff, they’re just longing to hear the artists THEY like and already know, over and over.

Here's the other thing....your typical artist/band has a lot more out there than what your typical radio station plays. When I to listen to the classic rock station in Fredericton and the DJ says "coming up, Aerosmith", I lay 2-1 odds that it's Love in an Elevator. Come on...they've put out 14 albums over the years. Surely, if they're going to play Aerosmith, they could play more than the same 3 songs every time. Now, I *like* Aerosmith, but I also like variety.

I don't have satellite radio...but just the fact that there are more channels leads me to believe their selection is better. If I were to plug in Aerosmith into that alert thing, I doubt I'd be listening to Love in an Elevator every second time it comes up.

Thankfully, we're getting a sort of reprieve here in the Fredericton market this week. The East Coast Music Awards are in town and the stations are stepping up their playing of local/regional artists (somewhat) to promote it.

[Mister F]

Come on, if the worst Canadian bands you guys can come up with are Rush, the Hip, and the Guess Who (two of which got famous well before Cancon), we're not doing too badly. They're all really talented bands.

I'll take those any day over the likes of Blink182, Def Leppard, Britney Spears, and Creed.

edit: okay, Bryan Adams and Trooper are pretty terrible.

[Nutterbug]

Trooper has more than one song?

That other song goes "So have a good time...the sun ain't gonna shine every day."

[Acajack]

Trooper also sang “The Boys in the Bright White Sports Car”.

[MolsonExport]

Trooper has more than one song?

Off the top of my head:
Here for a good time (not a long time)
Raise a little hell

[MolsonExport]

Here's the other thing....your typical artist/band has a lot more out there than what your typical radio station plays. When I to listen to the classic rock station in Fredericton and the DJ says "coming up, Aerosmith", I lay 2-1 odds that it's Love in an Elevator. Come on...they've put out 14 albums over the years. Surely, if they're going to play Aerosmith, they could play more than the same 3 songs every time. Now, I *like* Aerosmith, but I also like variety.

I don't have satellite radio...but just the fact that there are more channels leads me to believe their selection is better. If I were to plug in Aerosmith into that alert thing, I doubt I'd be listening to Love in an Elevator every second time it comes up.



This is exactly what I am talking about. The same damned three songs.

As for the Guess Who, and BTO, I was quite a fan (still am), but the same three songs keep getting played!

It is like on a hard rock station, the pseudo DJ goes "TIME TO GET THE LED OUT" and you know--YOU JUST KNOW--that it will be "Rock and Roll"...and presto, "It's been a long time since I rock-and-roll!" Fuck, Zeppelin has many great tunes, why does it ALWAYS have to be "Rock and Roll" or "Stairway to Heaven"?

[harls]

I was joking.

Nevermind.

[kirjtc2]

C103, the rock station in Moncton (which I consider to be the best radio station in New Brunswick) puts their playlist for the day online. This is what they have for the last hour or so:

2:20: Cold Shot (Stevie Ray Vaughan) - I can't even think of any other songs by him
2:16: Stuck in the Middle with You (Jeff Healey Band) - token Cancon, cover of a song by a British band - nice work-around
2:13: Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix) - exactly what we're talking about
2:08: Five Long Years (Colin James) - slightly overplayed Cancon
2:03: Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits) - it's always this or Money for Nothing
1:54: Money City Maniacs (Sloan) - Cancon, but I'll give it to them....they're regional and it's ECMA week
1:49: She Talks to Angels (Black Crowes) - wanna give it to them since I'm a HUGE Crowes fan, but on the radio it's always this or Hard to Handle
1:45: Jack and Diane (John Mellencamp) - always this, Small Town or Pink Houses
1:36: Avenue A (Red Rider) - standard 80s Cancon
1:33: What I Like About You (Romantics) - annoying and overplayed
1:29: Thinking of You (Harlequin) - standard 80s Cancon
(going back a few songs)
1:09: Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin) - you were saying?

Overall, not as bad I thought...at least the standard Cancon isn't Bryan Adams or the Guess Who...but like I said, this is the best radio station in NB in my opinion.

[vid]

That's almost identical to all the commercial radio stations in my city! At any one time, all four commercial radio stations could be playing Nickelback or Trooper! Goody! :rolleyes:

[Mister F]

C103, the rock station in Moncton (which I consider to be the best radio station in New Brunswick) puts their playlist for the day online. This is what they have for the last hour or so:

2:20: Cold Shot (Stevie Ray Vaughan) - I can't even think of any other songs by him
2:16: Stuck in the Middle with You (Jeff Healey Band) - token Cancon, cover of a song by a British band - nice work-around
2:13: Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix) - exactly what we're talking about
2:08: Five Long Years (Colin James) - slightly overplayed Cancon
2:03: Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits) - it's always this or Money for Nothing
1:54: Money City Maniacs (Sloan) - Cancon, but I'll give it to them....they're regional and it's ECMA week
1:49: She Talks to Angels (Black Crowes) - wanna give it to them since I'm a HUGE Crowes fan, but on the radio it's always this or Hard to Handle
1:45: Jack and Diane (John Mellencamp) - always this, Small Town or Pink Houses
1:36: Avenue A (Red Rider) - standard 80s Cancon
1:33: What I Like About You (Romantics) - annoying and overplayed
1:29: Thinking of You (Harlequin) - standard 80s Cancon
(going back a few songs)
1:09: Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin) - you were saying?

Overall, not as bad I thought...at least the standard Cancon isn't Bryan Adams or the Guess Who...but like I said, this is the best radio station in NB in my opinion.
Damn! I feel bad for you guys in New Brunswick! For those of you who have the option, you really need to stop listening to classic rock stations. They're all the same and they all suck. Here's the playlist for the last hour on 102.1 The Edge - I live right on the edge (excuse the pun) of their listening area.

3:04PM Radiohead - Bodysnatchers (you can't go wrong with Radiohead)
3:01PM Beastie Boys - Sabotage (about as "classic rock" as this station gets)
2:58PM Attack In Black - Young Leaves (Canadian, can't think of any of their music but I don't think I like them)
2:49PM Foxboro Hot Tubs - Mother Mary (don't know it)
2:45PM The Tragically Hip - Fifty Mission Cap (you were saying? :P)
2:41PM Three Dog Night - Shambala (don't know it)
2:36PM Muse - Starlight (great song)
2:33PM Rise Against - The Good Left Undone (meh)
2:27PM Pearl Jam - Last Kiss (I like Pearl Jam but not this song)
2:23PM Bedouin Soundclash - St. Andrews (Canadian. Not a fan)
2:15PM Sublime - What I Got (meh)
2:08PM Tool - The Pot (awesome. I love Tool.)
2:01PM Stars - Take Me To The Riot (Canadian, very cool from what I've heard so far)

Stars, Bedouin Soundclash, the Hip, and Attack in Black are Canadian. As I type this they're playing The Pretender by Foo Fighters - not too shabby.

edited to add commentary. Oh, and they're playing Closer by Nine Inch Nails now. Sweet.

[Jay in Cowtown]

So, Jay in Cowtown, what you’re telling us is that you actually listen to the same 40 artists over and over again? Which goes to show that most people who complain about lack of variety on the radio aren’t truly looking for more variety and to be exposed to new and potentially interesting stuff, they’re just longing to hear the artists THEY like and already know, over and over.



Yeah pretty much, that and Howard Stern!

But when I do get an alert for Metallica, I actually might hear Ride the Lightning or Fade to Black... not Enter Sandman every single fucking time. As well I hear bands like the Beastie Boys, Offspring, Korn & Disturbed... which until up to a year ago you hardly ever heard on Calgary FM!

[vid]

I'll wait until you can access things like Hypem and Pandora on satellite radio. Cars are now able to play mp3 audio anyway, just plug in an mp3 player and you can listen to it over the car's speakers.

[kirjtc2]

You can't make this up....I turned to the "alternative" station on the St. Mary's First Nation. What was the first song I heard? Love in an Elevator!

Some alternative...

[Ayreonaut]

Damn! I feel bad for you guys in New Brunswick! For those of you who have the option, you really need to stop listening to classic rock stations. They're all the same and they all suck. Here's the playlist for the last hour on 102.1 The Edge - I live right on the edge (excuse the pun) of their listening area.

3:04PM Radiohead - Bodysnatchers (you can't go wrong with Radiohead)
3:01PM Beastie Boys - Sabotage (about as "classic rock" as this station gets)
2:58PM Attack In Black - Young Leaves (Canadian, can't think of any of their music but I don't think I like them)
2:49PM Foxboro Hot Tubs - Mother Mary (don't know it)
2:45PM The Tragically Hip - Fifty Mission Cap (you were saying? :P)
2:41PM Three Dog Night - Shambala (don't know it)
2:36PM Muse - Starlight (great song)
2:33PM Rise Against - The Good Left Undone (meh)
2:27PM Pearl Jam - Last Kiss (I like Pearl Jam but not this song)
2:23PM Bedouin Soundclash - St. Andrews (Canadian. Not a fan)
2:15PM Sublime - What I Got (meh)
2:08PM Tool - The Pot (awesome. I love Tool.)
2:01PM Stars - Take Me To The Riot (Canadian, very cool from what I've heard so far)

Stars, Bedouin Soundclash, the Hip, and Attack in Black are Canadian. As I type this they're playing The Pretender by Foo Fighters - not too shabby.

edited to add commentary. Oh, and they're playing Closer by Nine Inch Nails now. Sweet.
OMG, I absolutely loathe both Tool and NIN. I hate industrial, and Tool is NOT prog metal, wtf are people thinking when they say that?

[SpongeG]

BROADCASTING: WHY AM STATIONS ARE DISAPPEARING

RADIO SILENCE: Kingston, Ont., is the latest city to lose its AM radio stations, but it likely won't be the last. Tired of stagnant revenue and tiny profits, broadcasters are jumping to the FM dial every chance they get

Almost 30 years of Ray Bergstrom's life have been spent as a disc jockey on AM radio. But the most agonizing music selection he ever made came last month when he chose Roy Orbison's It's Over to be the final song played on Kingston's 960 AM.

Oldies 960 was abandoning AM for the smoother-sounding - and far more profitable - FM dial. The station, owned by Corus Entertainment Inc., would remake itself as Lite 104.3 FM, and in January the AM station signed off for good, sinking into a static abyss.

It is a growing reality in the radio industry these days as broadcasters seek regulatory permission to flip AM stations to FM, where profits and audiences are bigger and the signal is more reliable in urban centres.

The industry has seen the trend coming for a long time, but Kingston is ahead of the curve. When Oldies 960 jumped, so did the other two AM stations in town. For the first time since the dawn of radio there, AM is off the air.

"For people like me who grew up in the sixties and fell in love with AM radio, it's the death of something near and dear," Mr. Bergstrom said as he programmed adult contemporary tracks for Lite 104.3's afternoon show.

Bittersweet in so many ways for the industry, since most broadcasters see little future in AM outside of the largest urban centres where news, talk and sports stations find success, but music formats struggle to make a profit.

Most of Canada's biggest radio broadcasters have either been approved to flip at least a few of their AM stations in certain markets, or are awaiting clearance to do so. Some other small Canadian cities, such as Thunder Bay, have also seen the AM dial fall silent.

Figures kept by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission indicate there were 178 commercial AM stations at the start of 2007. This is outside of the CBC, which is a public broadcaster. However, at least a dozen stations a year have been seeking to flip.

Were it not for limited space on the FM dial in major markets, coupled with restrictions on how many FM stations a company can own in any one market, AM stations in Canada would be dwindling even faster, several broadcasters say.

In addition to Corus, Rogers Communications Inc., CTVglobemedia Inc., Pattison Broadcasting Group Ltd. and the CBC are all looking to switch wherever there's an unclaimed frequency.

"This is going on in markets everywhere, and it's safe to say that everyone with AM operations that hasn't found a profitable niche is looking seriously at doing something about their AM stations," said Duff Roman, acting head of radio for CTVglobemedia, which acquired CHUM Ltd.'s radio network last year.

At stake is the profitability - if not the viability - of a station. The average AM station makes $118,000 a year, while the average FM station pulls in $659,000. Not surprisingly, the number of AM stations has been steadily eroding. The 178 AM stations represents a 40-per-cent drop from the 287 that existed a decade earlier.

Meanwhile, FM stations have more than doubled to 419 from 192 in 1996, owing to a mix of stations moving over from AM and a willingness by the CRTC to grant licences for new FM stations.

A move by the CBC to shift several of its AM stations to FM, or at least operate them simultaneously on both dials, has sped up the trend, some executives say, since the CBC takes big audiences with it when it moves to FM.

"The fact is, about 80 per cent of all people under age 54 do not listen to AM," said John Hayes, president of Corus Radio. "The CBC has been very effective in moving their services to FM because they know that's where the audience is. So we've been all over the commission to allow us to flip AM to FM where we can."

The CBC, which is applying to exchange its Vancouver AM station for three FM signals that will cover the same area of southwestern B.C., says the move is more about signal disruption than audiences.

"AM still has tremendous advantages over FM on the distance it's able to cover," said Ted Kennedy, chief of staff for CBC English Radio. "But the issue we're having, and it's an issue facing everybody, is that with modern construction techniques in major urban centres, AM doesn't penetrate the buildings as well."

But the biggest hurdle in big cities is scarcity of available signals on the FM dial. In downtown Vancouver, there is only one spot remaining on FM and rival broadcasters would also love to have it.

"FM is a much more valued signal," said Rael Merson, president of broadcasting for Rogers, which has converted stations in Victoria and Winnipeg. "When the product you are selling is music, the quality of the audio is of paramount importance."

Ownership rules limiting broadcasters to a pair of English and French FM stations in any given market also stand in the way of such aspirations. Corus applied last year to simultaneously broadcast one of its AM formats in Winnipeg on FM to get a better signal in the city. It was turned down by the CRTC because the move would have given the company three FM stations there.

Such ownership and frequency restrictions may be the only thing keeping AM music stations from being relegated to the history books.

"Let's face it, there's a lot of people including my kids who have grown up never having listened to AM radio, except when I forced them to listen to me," Mr. Bergstrom says.

Though he did contemplate other tracks for that final song - including Steam's 1969 chart topper Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye, Mr. Bergstrom figured Mr. Orbison put it best when he crooned: "There's someone new. We're through, we're through."

***

By the numbers

AM STATIONS (2006): 178

Revenue: $320-million

Pretax profit: $21-million

Average profit per station: $118,000

FM STATIONS: 419

Revenue: $1.09-billion

Pretax profit:

$276-million

Average profit per station: $659, 000





http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080206.RAMFM06/TPStory/Business

[vid]

Thunder Bay no longer has AM stations. With 580 gone, we now get a conservative talk station from the UP. If you've got a good antenna, you can hear Bill O'Really every morning. :rolleyes:

Add to the list of crappy Canadian bands: State of Shock.

[harls]

I can't remember the last time I listened to AM radio. Probably in Montreal - CJAD.. just for that Smoked Meat Pete's commercial...

"highway 20 in Ile-Perrot, right next to the Dairy Queen.. you can't beat Pete's Meat".

[kirjtc2]

I still listen to AM every so often at night to hear baseball games coming in on stations from all over the place (esp my Red Sox), mainly because I'm too cheap to get the sports pack on cable. But for music, it's awful. The country station in Fredericton is on AM and sounds like it comes from a tin can. It can't move because the same company owns 2 FM stations.

[MolsonExport]

I can't remember the last time I listened to AM radio. Probably in Montreal - CJAD.. just for that Smoked Meat Pete's commercial...

"highway 20 in Ile-Perrot, right next to the Dairy Queen.. you can't beat Pete's Meat".

Same here; same station, same reason.

:D

[Rathgrith]

I HATE PUNS!!!!!!!:hell:

[bigcanuck]

I can't remember the last time I listened to AM radio. Probably in Montreal - CJAD.. just for that Smoked Meat Pete's commercial...

"highway 20 in Ile-Perrot, right next to the Dairy Queen.. you can't beat Pete's Meat".

It's funny - I guess I'm an AM holdout. Definitely not for the quality but the content - there are no talk/news radio stations on FM other than CBC.

[SpongeG]

i listen to cfun in the car often - talk radio

and am730 - which is traffic all day all night - apparently the only all traffic station in the world

[SpongeG]

lameness strikes Canada again

Cosmo TV seems to duplicate most of the W Network shows and they are years old

they are even running ABC's "The bachelor" from 2002

lame

other than sex and the city and oh so cosmo for "different" doesn't seem any better or different to W network

and they expect people to pay to watch it

[harls]

Whoever created the "Diamond Shreddies" ad needs a pick-axe in the back of their skull.

[MolsonExport]

^Indeed, but only after a few hours being slowly stretched on the rack. The ad concept is beyond the realm of badness. In sociology, perhaps they would call it postbadness, and this phenomenon would also take in Gigli, McCain's frozen pizza commercials, Ben Mulroney, Brand Power ads, the Maple Leafs, etc.

[kirjtc2]

I had an audition with Voiceprint (http://www.voiceprintcanada.com) for a volunteer news-reading position yesterday. They really liked it. So if you happen to come across that channel and hear someone who sounds like Kermit the Frog reading Atlantic entertainment news, that's me. :)

If you can read a newspaper article without sounding monotone and have some spare time on weekdays, I suggest trying out.

[vid]

Toyota Corrolla has revived "Mambo Number 5" in its commercials.

They must die.

[kirjtc2]

I just saw a Brand Power ad for Chrisco Hampers.

Everything wrong with advertising rolled into one 30-second clip.

[vid]

I just saw a Brand Power ad for Chrisco Hampers.

Everything wrong with advertising rolled into one 30-second clip.

TV. 1928-2008.

[SpongeG]

speaking of cancon - tragically hip
i was watching jumper yesterday and they used ahead by a century in the movie

[Rico Rommheim]

Toyota Corrolla has revived "Mambo Number 5" in its commercials.

They must die.

Ugh. You didn't see the french translated version of that ad did you? Just awful. Awful awful!

[vid]

I don't get French tv, but I can imagine. :(

[Rico Rommheim]

you don't even have radio canada? Isn't that illegal?

[vid]

We do but without cable, it doesn't come in very clearly. I don't watch it anyway. I watched RDI sometimes though, but without cable, I don't have that at all.

At my old place, without cable, all you could get was Radio-Canada. Here, its the opposite.

[mr.John]

I don't know if somebody already mentioned it, Tim Puketon is running "roll up the rim to lose ads" again. Yes buy a cup of battery acid ,which they try to pass off as coffee ,and lose lose lose

[Rico Rommheim]

^Hey that was the 666th post of the thread!

[SpongeG]

Is that song a hit? Ask the CRTC

MEDIA REPORTER -- Radio stations have been padding their profits for years by milking tried-and-true hits and doing whatever they can to avoid taking chances on up-and-coming Canadian artists, a new federal report on the industry alleges.

In a process that is expected to have a financial impact on radio broadcasters if new rules are instituted, regulators are now stepping in. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission plans to define for the first time what is - and specifically is not - a hit song.

Such changes would have big implications for the radio industry, record labels, artists and advertisers alike depending on how restrictive the rules become.

Since play lists are designed to attract mass audiences, stations have increasingly gravitated to hit-driven formats, often at the expense of new music, which poses more of a risk with advertisers. Meanwhile, FM radio has enjoyed a renaissance in profitability, recently surpassing $1-billion in revenue for the first time.

Concerned that too many radio stations are bending to their advantage the loosely written rules that say stations must encourage airplay of emerging artists, the regulator has decided to come up with a specific definition.

A CRTC official said yesterday that the regulator has long required stations to devote 35 per cent of airtime to Canadian music, but has not asked for a specific amount for new, emerging musicians. This is a problem for recording artists, industry groups say.

"We've done research that shows, even with Canadian acts, that the average act played on radio is 15 to 20 years old," said Duncan McKie, president of the Canadian Independent Record Production Association.

"They play the hell out of the established, recognizable acts. And then they'll turn around and say, well, the reason we don't play your acts is that they're not recognizable," Mr. McKie said.

Broadcasters argue there are financial risks in deviating too much from the mainstream, should audiences go elsewhere. In the past, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) has asked the CRTC to consider incentives for radio stations to take chances with their play lists. Emerging artists for example, would count for more points towards Canadian content requirements. The CAB, which speaks on behalf of broadcasters, would not comment on the report yesterday.

Nine possible definitions of an "emerging artist," or what could also be defined as a "non-hit," were presented to the radio industry yesterday in documents accompanying the report, with the CRTC focusing on three main scenarios that could apply to the industry for years to come.

The definition the CRTC appears to favour describes an emerging artist as a musician who has never had a song on the charts, or whose first top-40 song occurred in the past year. However, other potential scenarios offered up to the industry would broaden that period out to as much as four years, or narrow it to as little as six months. The regulator may also consider expanding its definition of the charts, to the top 60 or top 100 songs.

How such matters are defined would have significant implications for Canadian artists who have had breakout hits in recent years, but took a while to attract mass appeal. Depending on which definition the CRTC chooses, Grammy-nominated musicians such as Feist and Arcade Fire could either be classified as Top-40 artists or as new and emerging musicians.

Mr. McKie notes that Feist was trying to get airplay long before Canadian radio stations added her to play lists. He argues that it mostly wasn't until she was featured in an Apple Inc. iPod commercial that she was added to heavy rotation.

The CRTC has become concerned in recent years that radio stations have been flouting promises to play new Canadian artists, opting instead for established Canadians acts like Bryan Adams and The Tragically Hip.

"Some [in the music industry] allege that commercial radio stations have adopted programming strategies that minimize the play-listing of such music in favour of broadcasting the work of well established artists," says the CRTC report. "In their view, these practices hinder the development of a dynamic Canadian music industry."

In the report, the CRTC examined how much airtime was devoted to new Canadian artists.

During the week of April 15 to 21, 2007, the regulator found that English stations were devoting less than 10 per cent of their airtime to emerging Canadian talent when the definition of a non-hit artist was defined by the broadest terms - someone who had only made it on to the charts for the first time in the previous four years.

When the most narrow definition - charting in the previous six months - was applied, English stations were making less than 2 per cent of their schedules available to newer artists.

Mr. McKie welcomed the plan to define hits and non-hits.

"Whatever they do, it's got to be better ... because what we have today are [stations] that are playing less than 4- or 5-per-cent new acts. And in a week, that's 80 plays maybe out of 2,000," Mr. McKie said.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080228.RRADIO28/TPStory/Business

[vid]

I was sitting down reading my Time magazine the other day when the honey clusters of whateverthefuck Zoot review commercial came on, with Andrea Martin. He "WAAAAA!" scared the crap out of me. I quipped, "Someone has to shut that bitch up!" then returned to my story about John McCain. He's old.

The radio should play more Wintersleep and less Motley Crue. :yes:

[SteelTown]

I cringe each time I hear that Dempster commercial on TV.

"Hey Greta what's cooking?!" She's making a fucking sandwich you moron!

"It's the whole grain truth!" with her hands up like she's testifying or something.

[SpongeG]

thay now play that toyota commercial in the movie theatre

worst

[harls]

God damn Mini Wheats, why do you have to come up with annoying after annoying jingles? Now I can't get that cinnamon shit song out of my head. Yesterday I was buying groceries and saw the box on the shelf.. I envisioned myself picking it up and smashing it over the stocking boy's head, shards of wheat and tear-caked frosting running down his face as I pictured him running to the floor manager, while I cheerfully sang the mini-wheat theme and destroyed box after box..

[MolsonExport]

^You should have done it. You would be my hero :D

I have these rather destructive urges all the time, on account of lousy advertising.

[Rathgrith]

I cringe each time I hear that Dempster commercial on TV.

"Hey Greta what's cooking?!" She's making a fucking sandwich you moron!

"It's the whole grain truth!" with her hands up like she's testifying or something.

I do too! But they are MILFS and a threesome would be awesome between the two.

[Rathgrith]

I just saw MTV Cribs Canadian edition with Chad "I wanna look like Jesus" Kroeger and Darcy Tucker. Ewwwwwwwwwwww! This is what happen when douche bags get too much money. Plus, this is why I personally support illegally downloaded music. Argggghh!

[vid]

yes, Chad Kroeger lives in a hilltop house with playboy bunnies and the latest dictionary, or something.

I'm ashamed to even have a vague idea of what they say in that song. :(

[Rico Rommheim]

I do too! But they are MILFS and a threesome would be awesome between the two.

What?? They're so phony in every possible way!

[Ayreonaut]

Man, how terrible is the acting in those True Value commercials? :no:

[harls]

Fuck off.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2412/2331685346_a9e370bf01_b.jpg

[vid]

I saw that too. I couldn't believe it.

"Oh, diamond shreddies!! Baaaa-aaa-aaa!!!!"

[Ayreonaut]

CBS? Where is that?

[harls]

CBS? Where is that?


It's in Ottawa, I think CBS bought out all of the Pattison billboards here. I think it looks sorta weird!

[vid]

No, the Viacom boards were renamed CBS for some reason. I honestly don't know why. CBS stands for Columbia Broadcast System.

Patterson still has its boards. They're usually right beside Viacom's. :rolleyes:

[Jay in Cowtown]

No, the Viacom boards were renamed CBS for some reason. I honestly don't know why. CBS stands for Columbia Broadcast System.

Patterson still has its boards. They're usually right beside Viacom's. :rolleyes:

Viacom owns CBS, they rebranded their advertising boards "CBS Outdoor" last year.

[vid]

I know who owns CBS. And I still think CBS Outdoor doesn't make much sense. :\

They just wanted their eye thing plastered up everywhere so people would think about their TV Network.

[Ayreonaut]

Even outside the US?

[vid]

Obviously. We get do CBS here. :P (At least on cable.)

[Jay in Cowtown]

I know who owns CBS. And I still think CBS Outdoor doesn't make much sense. :\

They just wanted their eye thing plastered up everywhere so people would think about their TV Network.

... all the while making money on the billboard advertising they sold... how does that "not make sense"? Seems like smart business tactics to me.

[SpongeG]

its all got to do with the mothercompany shifting things around to take advantage of taxes - makes no sense to us but big difference to their books

[SteelTown]

A new secretive movie studio that's been in the works for awhile will be finally unveiled on Tuesday in Hamilton. It'll be called Steel Work Studios

http://www.steelworkstudios.com/

[kirjtc2]

Apparently when Viacom spun off CBS a year or so ago, CBS took all "advertising-related" businesses. There was a story about it in one of the big Canadian papers when this happened and the eye popped up on all those billboards.

[Rico Rommheim]

WE have those CBS boards here too. I noticed them and thought it was weird, I mean Montreal isn't anywhere near a potent market for CBS.

[vid]

What is a potent market?

[Rico Rommheim]

vaginus imperitus

[SpongeG]

i just noticed BBC K is playing the mighty boosh on mondays!!!

bqZp7oKgbFU

[jimj_wpg]

Let it be known that I cancelled my Bell ExpressVu subscription this Monday.

Tv is total crap. I don't want to spend $60+ on crapola.

[jimj_wpg]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080206.RAMFM06/TPStory/Business

Corus applied last year to simultaneously broadcast one of its AM formats in Winnipeg on FM to get a better signal in the city. It was turned down by the CRTC because the move would have given the company three FM stations there.

Corus owns 680 AM CJOB, and CJKR 97.5 (Power97), and last year bought up 99.1 COOL FM which is now GROOVE FM.

Poor planning guys. If they wanted CJOB to go to FM, they should have left 99.1 alone.

[jimj_wpg]

This is exactly what I am talking about. The same damned three songs.

As for the Guess Who, and BTO, I was quite a fan (still am), but the same three songs keep getting played!

It is like on a hard rock station, the pseudo DJ goes "TIME TO GET THE LED OUT" and you know--YOU JUST KNOW--that it will be "Rock and Roll"...and presto, "It's been a long time since I rock-and-roll!" Fuck, Zeppelin has many great tunes, why does it ALWAYS have to be "Rock and Roll" or "Stairway to Heaven"?

You know, 92.1 CITI FM in Winnipeg does the "Time to get the LED out" every weekday at "11 a and 11 p"..

When I looked at your profile info at the top of your post, I thought you were from Winnipeg, but I guess other cities do that too..

Is your station that does Zepplin bit owned by ROGERS?

[vid]

Let it be known that I cancelled my Bell ExpressVu subscription this Monday.

Tv is total crap. I don't want to spend $60+ on crapola.

:tup: